Tribute

There was a five year clinical trial done involving 3,300 women with early breast cancer (stage 1-3 from 2000 to 2005 I think). Up until then (but only a few years I can't remember exactly) herceptin was only used for women with metastasised breast cancer. They were benefiting and they wanted to find out if women with early breast cancer would benefit as well.

About half the women in the group chose to have the herceptin the rest chose not to. AND they did chose this was not one of those random trials. God Bless them. All 3,300 scared out of their minds women. Those brave enough to take a drug and not know the outcome or what it would do to them and those brave enough to decide to fore go it.

They have 2, 3 and 4 year survival rates. I'll jump to the 4 year mark. 85% of the women in the herceptin group were alive. 67% in the non herceptin group. That's sobering.

I'm going to be getting herceptin so I'm assured that the odds are being stacked in my favor. And there is one more factor that is in my favor but we don't know by how much. Very very few of the 3,300 women were node free. So few that they couldn't do a separate study of these women. I'm node negative. We know that node negative breast cancer has a better prognosis to start with we just don't know how much better the prognosis is with herceptin. But, I'm counting on it being better because it is in every other case.

Yea I'm going to a crazy place right now and I will be there until I see Dr. Barth on the 13th.

He is my cerebral warrior.

In a way some would think I was brave too as they don't know the long term effects of this drug. What I do know is that it has kept women with the worse cases metastasised breast cancer alive for years. That is good enough for me. I'm not the FDA and I don't need 25 years of clinical trials to convince me. Plus I don't have that time to wait around and see anyway.

Herceptin my bullet proof vest.